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Car Forum / BMW Cars / November 20082004 bmw 325xi: AM Radio Statics and Reception Problems
My 2004 325xi am radio had problems with AM radio statics and reception for many years. It was replaced twice already.( Now seating and waiting for 3rd replacement appointment). Is there anything else other than replacing of the radios that can be done? Is this a known problem with BMW AM radios. Or I should try to declare this a lemon. Anyone? >My 2004 325xi am radio had problems with AM radio statics and >reception for many years. It was replaced twice already.( Now seating >and waiting for 3rd replacement appointment). Is there anything else >other than replacing of the radios that can be done? Is this a known >problem with BMW AM radios. Or I should try to declare this a lemon. >Anyone? Nobody today is willing to put a decent AM radio in a car. The first issue is the antenna... a real AM antenna is large... even the little meter-high stub that cars had for years is now considered too large by car manufacturers. The low-profile stubs are just not effective antennae at all. The second issue is that cars are now filled with electronic crap that causes radio interference. The only solution for this is to shield the radio and then get the antenna as far away from the electronics and wiring as possible... but that affects the car design a lot and car manufacturers don't like that. The third issue is that most listeners don't really give a damn about AM reception, so most AM radios have poor sensitivity and selectivity and many of them have no high end at all because manufacturers don't want to put good sharp filters into them. Let me also say that something very bad has happened on the AM band in the last year and that if you used to listen to big clear-channel stations across the country at night, you may find the new IBOC digital carriers from adjacent stations are knocking them out. I used to be able to tune the dial from KGO on up to WSB here and now half of the big powerhouses are full of buzzing noises from IBOC-AM. Write the FCC and complain about this. If I were you I would look into the Philips DC777 car radio, or possibly the Sony XR-CA660X. Both seem to have decent AM front ends. Grundig and Blaupunkt both used to make some models that were well-known for good AM quality but I don't know if any of that stuff is still made. Take off the low profile antenna, and add a real radio antenna. You can find generic kits at your local auto parts store to do the job. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SPLICE the cable that comes with those things... it is not coax but a goofy low-capacitance line that matches to a high-impedance source (like an antenna that is much shorter than a quarter wave). --scott  Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." > My 2004 325xi am radio had problems with AM radio statics and > reception for many years. It was replaced twice already.( Now seating > and waiting for 3rd replacement appointment). Is there anything else > other than replacing of the radios that can be done? Is this a known > problem with BMW AM radios. Or I should try to declare this a lemon. IMHO, a lot of what Scott says is junk. But some is very true: the real problem with staticy AM reception is the antenna. Getting a different radio/head will not make a difference, as the BMW AM radio is pretty good; certainly better than Toyota radios and Sony radios (I have a Sony in my RV and it's crap even with a bigger antenna.) The antenna in BMWs is not the "low-profile" one; that's the SatNav antenna. BMW antennas are in the rear window. The connections in the c-pillars to the antenna connections are notoriously exposed to corrosion, and the in-line amplifiers for them (also in the c-pillar) also fail a lot. Remove the liner, disconnect everything and clean the connections. Replace the amplifiers. There are actually two antennas in the window; the radio switches to the one with the best signal; at least one antenna or connection is bad. Almost certainly, a new radio will not fix your problems. Almost certainly, your state's lemon laws do not apply to radios, so don't bother. FloydR >> My 2004 325xi am radio had problems with AM radio statics and >> reception for many years. It was replaced twice already.( Now seating [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >good; certainly better than Toyota radios and Sony radios (I have a >Sony in my RV and it's crap even with a bigger antenna.) Do not make any generalizations about brand. Sony makes some good radios and some total crap too. >The antenna in BMWs is not the "low-profile" one; that's the SatNav >antenna. BMW antennas are in the rear window. The connections in [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >in the window; the radio switches to the one with the best signal; at >least one antenna or connection is bad. Yes, this is absolutely true... but even working properly, the low-profile "amplified stub" antenna system isn't worth a damn. Yes, the antennae are embedded in the rear window... and the diversity switching helps a lot with FM reception but it doesn't do a thing for AM since picket-fencing from multipath isn't really a problem with AM anyway. Replacing the amplifier modules and cleaning the connections won't hurt anything, but it won't make the system perform any better than it did when it was new. And when it was new, it wasn't so hot. >Almost certainly, a new radio will not fix your problems. Almost >certainly, your state's lemon laws do not apply to radios, so don't >bother. This is true, the antenna is 90% of the issue. But a better radio won't hurt either. --scott Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." > Yes, this is absolutely true... but even working properly, the > low-profile "amplified stub" antenna system isn't worth a damn. Yes, [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > won't hurt anything, but it won't make the system perform any better > than it did when it was new. And when it was new, it wasn't so hot. I recently bought a DAB radio for the 'other' car and discovered it really needed the correct aerial too - so for the thick end of 100 gbp I bought the correct roof mounted active one. About 18" long, and two amps built in, one of which is for AM. And it works very, very well. Far better than the screen ones on my E39. Signature*If only you'd use your powers for good instead of evil. Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. >I recently bought a DAB radio for the 'other' car and discovered it really >needed the correct aerial too - so for the thick end of 100 gbp I bought >the correct roof mounted active one. About 18" long, and two amps built >in, one of which is for AM. And it works very, very well. Far better than >the screen ones on my E39. European DAB is much shorter wavelength than FM, and it needs both a different size antenna, and if there are active electronics they need to be tuned differently. The good thing about DAB is that the short wavelength means that small antennae can be a lot more effective, but it means existing FM antennae aren't going to work very well. It really was designed with cars in mind, which the AM and FM bands surely were not. --scott Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." > >I recently bought a DAB radio for the 'other' car and discovered it > >really needed the correct aerial too - so for the thick end of 100 gbp > >I bought the correct roof mounted active one. About 18" long, and two > >amps built in, one of which is for AM. And it works very, very well. > >Far better than the screen ones on my E39. > European DAB is much shorter wavelength than FM, and it needs both a > different size antenna, and if there are active electronics they need > to be tuned differently. But my radio has FM and AM too. As it happens Band III (DAB) is approx half the wavelength of Band II (FM) so all is not lost. > The good thing about DAB is that the short wavelength means that small > antennae can be a lot more effective, but it means existing FM antennae > aren't going to work very well. It really was designed with cars in > mind, which the AM and FM bands surely were not. --scott The active aerial I've got works very well for all bands. Much better than the screen one in my E39. As well it might being a ground plane design. Signature*Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines * Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. > Floyd Rogers <fbloogyuds@hotmail.com> wrote: >... Replacing the amplifier > modules and cleaning the connections won't hurt anything, but it won't > make > the system perform any better than it did when it was new. This is not true IME in my '01 330xi. Cleaning the contacts markedly improved AM performance. FloydR Forgot to add after 2nd sentence: >> Floyd Rogers <fbloogyuds@hotmail.com> wrote: >>... Replacing the amplifier [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > This is not true IME in my '01 330xi. Cleaning the contacts markedly > improved AM performance. ... more than a new radio. > FloydR > My 2004 325xi am radio had problems with AM radio statics and > reception for many years. It was replaced twice already.( Now seating > and waiting for 3rd replacement appointment). Is there anything else > other than replacing of the radios that can be done? Is this a known > problem with BMW AM radios. Or I should try to declare this a lemon. > Anyone? It can be the rear window or the connections to the antenna or defogger in it. I had two rear windows replaced for this reason under warranty. SignatureJRE |
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